Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The good news about staying in one of these timeshare hotel suites is they usually have full kitchens. The bad news is they don't have any supplies or pantry with which to work, so planning a nice meal can be a bit challenging.

This Timeshare Turkey Bolognese video recipe is a good option since it doesn't require many ingredients, or a whole lot of slicing and dicing. Every one of these types of kitchens has the same exact knife set - flimsy, jagged-edged, plastic-handled, Ginsu-wannabes.

These knifes are not only dangerous to use, but make even the most basic cuts virtually impossible. You'll actually see me resort to a pair of scissors to cut the parsley. This recipe was nice because even the most poorly chopped onions and garlic will still work in this sauce.

Keep in mind as you prepare to comment, this is not my usually Bolognese sauce - so questions about why I didn’t add something, etc., will all get the same answer - I'm cooking on the road. I may (for a nominal fee) be making that much sought-after video recipe available soon, but for now this very crude version will have to do.

All in all, it was a great tasting meal, and my two customers seemed very happy with it. I hope those of you with access to fully stocked kitchens and pantries will take this very basic recipe and run wild with it. Enjoy!

Tech note: This was filmed without my usual studio equipment, so the audio is pretty rough.

22 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Hey Chef, thanks for the recipe and wow--looks like you had nonstick and decently heavy pans? I've never seen nicer pans in a timeshare then what you had in the vid. Usually the ones I see are the paper thin dented all metal ones that most hobo's use or hit each other with. The cheap kind that burn water. Recipe looks tasty as always. Eat well and have Safe journeys. -cb

Easy for me to say how yummy it looks. I am like granny, it proves to me you don't need a lot high end equipment to get a really good meal. I guess a good knife would be helpful. Thanks for sharing, now pass me a plate please!!

Not to be snarky, but what's the allure of cooking on the road? Is it the cost savings? The challenge? I'm sure it's cheaper, but wouldn't you rather be sight seeing than hanging out in a hotel suite kitchen?

yes, cost savings is a good reason - helps me earn my keep! Also the daytime baseball, etc, is the site seeing aspect, not much to see around here at night - besides there is a great lit pool and hot tub.

My wife and I are looking forward to trying this recipe when we head up north this summer for a week at our grandma's timeshare! In the meantime, I have a foodwish: What the heck can you do with leftover baguette? (I attempted mini french toasts with moderate success..) Cheers,Jesse from Detroit

There is a beautiful Marriott Residence Inn I have stayed at a few times. It is all new and the 2 bedroom suites would make a nice apartment. The kitchen is very well equipped BUT the pantry is bare. I am not sure there was even salt and pepper. It is hard to put that nice kitchen to use when you have to get all your cooking supplies from scratch. OK for a long stay but a pain for a shorter one. Thanks for the easy recipe - love pasta.

Chris questioned the desire to cook on the road. While it does cut into the site seeing, from my experience eating in a restaurant can lose its appeal if you have to do it a lot. Especially when stuck in areas with limited choices. Having a home made meal once and while can be a rare treat for those that travel a lot.

Hey Chef John!I know this is kinda late but i'm a new fan of yours looking through old posts :) I love the recipes but i do have one question, don't you bring at least one knife with you when you're on the road? I know i couldn't do without my Santoku :)

Made this tonight and I did add lib. It turn out great! Great flavor considering the fact that I didn't think it would. Added extra garlic, green pepper, red pepper flakes, leftover chicken sausage, italian herbs etc. My husband didn't even know it was turkey. He said it was delicious and gave me a kiss. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was turkey. Anyway, once again chef, ya did it! Success!

I'm a big fan! I’m an mexican/american living in France missing some of the "good" American/Mexican food.You've been a big source of inspiration.Here in France we go to "campings" that are pretty much like bungalows, two or three bedrooms with a kitchen and a terrace.I've found out that while I can't travel with knifes, I can't leave my electric knife sharpener! They don't use too much baggage space, but are been more than once a big source of relief!Looking forward to your regular home made bolognese recipe!

A tip for your next on-the-road cooking video. Spice jars are bulky and expensive. When I sent sons off to college I bought a couple of those acrylic pill holders that screw together in a stack from a dollar-store. I took a small amount of various spices from my own spice jars put them into the pill compartments and labeled them. For next to no cost, they had a nice spice collection that took up the shelf space of a single spice jar.